The past five years have seen a boon of true crime pieces of pop culture. Between Serial, Making a Murderer and American Crime Story, it seems like the world has become fixated on taking a look back to the past to unearth some of the most significant unsolved cases.

USA has thrown its proverbial detective hat into the ring with Unsolved, a new anthology series that reexamines some of largest murder mysteries and the investigations that surrounded them. For its inaugural season, the show is focusing on the events that defined a hip-hop generation, the shootings of Tupac Shakur (Marcc Rose) and Christopher Wallace (Wavyy Jonez) aka “Biggie Smalls.” The series chronicles two investigations: one by Detective Russell Poole (Jimmi Simpson) months after Wallace’s death and one a decade later by Detective Greg Kading (Josh Duhamel) into both Wallace’s death and the lawsuit against the LAPD that came with the former case. As detectives try with great effort to find the true killers, we see flashbacks of the eponymous men before their ends, turning from good friends and collaborators to sworn enemies, instigating an infamous coastal rivalry.

In anticipation of the series, which premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET on USA, Rose and Jonez talked with Parade.com about the challenges in playing such notable figures and why the material in Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac & the Notorious B.I.G. is still relevant today.

Wavyy, this is your first role ever! What was the process like getting involved with the show?Somebody hit me up on the internet and told me about it. I looked, and my thought was that it was a scam! But my friends kept trying to convince me that [auditioning] was the right thing to do and see what happens. And I did, and they called me back, and they said the producers liked my audition and wanted to fly me out to test for the role.

What was your reaction when you found out that you were playing such an important figure as Biggie?I always loved Biggie. I loved his music. Being from New York, it was like he told our story, that young, hungry story of trying to get out of our predicament and into better situations. When I got the role, I knew that greatness could often be imitated but never duplicated, but I can come close to what a great human being he actually was.

On the other hand (or coast, as it were), we have Marcc. You’ve played Tupac before in Straight Outta Compton. Were you excited at the opportunity to play him in more of an expanded role over 10 episodes?I was super excited. Like you said, just to be able to have 10 episodes and peel the layers off of who Tupac Shakur was. Not only that, [but to] show this friendship as well between him and Christopher Wallace. In a lot of these documentaries and movies, they forget that. They skim over it, or they just play a two-minute segment of them interacting. But it was more than that, and just being attached to a project like this was exciting.

We always hear about the rivalry between Tupac and Biggie. Why do you think it’s important to highlight when they were close and how far they fell?Wavyy: Like Marcc said, often people leave that out because they broadcast the whole “east coast/west coast” rivalry. So for us to have the opportunity to bring life to that, and for people to be able to see that on screen, that these two were actually friends, it means a lot to me and I’m sure it means a lot to a lot of hip-hop fans and family and friends who actually knew these fellas and knew that they were friends, despite what everybody else says.

As far as the writing of the show, it jumps through three timelines: Tupac and Biggie’s rise and fall in their relationship, Russell Poole’s investigation in 1996 and Greg Kading’s investigation in 2006. What did you think about this way of telling the story?Marcc: I think it’s super cool. There was so much that went on, and we’re shown that. As you said, it’s three different timelines. Both [detectives] were heavy in this investigation, and it’s something not a lot of people knew. We obviously have to show you the timeline of Biggie and Tupac, what they were doing behind the scenes and what they meant to the people around them.

Executive producer and director Anthony Hemingway was involved with the first season of American Crime Story, which is one of these true crime shows that has taken the mainstream by storm. Why do you think these types of pieces of pop culture are so popular nowadays?Marcc: Because of the message these stories tell. These are honest, truthful messages. A lot of these shows have a lot of information that’s jampacked that people are interested in seeing. It’s just now that the stories are being told.Wavyy: I feel these stories are starting to come out because people want to know what happened to these people. There’s so much going on in the world right now, so much. We’re getting around to the time where people need closure on a lot of different situations as we go through some new situations. It’s a lot to learn from.

On that note, I know Unsolved deals with some issues that are still in our culture today, like race relations, gang violence and possible police corruption. How relevant is this show trying to be with its messages?Marcc: I feel like we show that there were a lot of cops looking into this case. And it wasn’t just bad cops. I’m a young African-American male, and I see a lot of stuff going on today. But I realize that it isn’t all bad cops; there are some good cops out there who care about getting the job done. It also shows humanity. It shows that though these people are celebrities, they are human. It breaks down humanity in the most perfect way possible.

Let’s talk about those human elements a bit. Wavyy, what was the most challenging thing about taking on the role of Biggie?Wavyy: The hardest thing is that people know these people. When I do the research and everything, it’s [about] coming close, because we know people are always going to talk. Just coming closest to who he was and trying to represent him, what happened, and his story. And to actually sit back and see the whole piece unfold, and see his heartbreak. I really looked up to these two gentlemen, so to see what happened to them is crazy.

Marcc, what is something about Tupac that you connected with in exploring him for Unsolved?Marcc: It was a lot of the passion Tupac had that I found myself being able to relate to. I’m such a passionate person myself in anything I do. So just being able to dig into his character and see the things that he was so passionate about and how much he would go hard for what he would believe that, that was something that stood out to me. [When I peeled] back more, it was easier to dive in. Even the things I wasn’t able to relate to, I was curious to know those things.

What’s one thing you’re excited for people to see or learn about when Unsolved premieres?Wavyy: I’m very excited for everybody to see, not only the friendship but the investigation that took place behind the scenes. I also want people to learn not leave anything unsaid. If you really love somebody, cherish and care for somebody, you come together, and whatever beef you have, you squash it. Just learn to come together. We need that more than anything else today.Marcc: If I can add on, I would just say that this is totally different. I’m excited about how different our series, and how raw the information is that we’re putting out. How unapologetic we’re being, but how tasteful and respectful we are as well. I’m excited for people to get a chance to witness that.

Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET on USA.

AMG/Parade Digital

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